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Brave Little State: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Vermont Public
What if you could decide what stories Vermont Public should be covering, before they're even assigned? That's the idea behind Brave Little State.
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The most recent episodes — sign up to get AI-powered summaries of each one.
- 1 weeks ago39 min
Twelve hours at the Village Scoop
Last year, a listener question inspired us to spend 12 whole hours at a park-and-ride lot in Richmond. This year, we posted up at another Vermont mainstay – a popular ice cream shop near the beaches of Lake Champlain, in Colchester. The Village Scoop is the kind of place where, if you stay put long enough, you can watch a whole Vermont summer unfold in one day. So, we arrived hours before the shop opened and stayed long after the last customer was served.During our marathon day there, we got a real taste of Vermont summer at its peak, in all its sweltering, melting glory.Click here for the web version of this episode, including photos and a full transcript.This episode was reported and produced by Josh Crane, Sabine Poux and Burgess Brown. Our intern is Sarah Bokelberg. Our Executive Producer is Angela Evancie. Theme music by Ty Gibbons; Other music by Blue Dot Sessions.Special thanks to Catherine Hurley, Scott Waterman and Meg Hershman.As always, our journalism is better when you’re a part of it: Ask a question about Vermont Sign up for the BLS newsletter Say hi onInstagram and Reddit @bravestatevt Drop us an email: hello@bravelittlestate.org Make a gift to support people-powered journalism Tell your friends about the show! Brave Little State is a production of Vermont Public and a proud member of the NPR Network.
- Jun 25, 202627 min
The Birthday Party: America at 250
You might have heard that the U.S. turns 250 this year. It’s a big, corporate to-do — the phrase “America 250” is plastered all over baseball hats and bags of potato chips. But what do Americans really make of this anniversary? The historian Jill Lepore and audiomaker Sophie Crane wanted to find out. They sent reporters all across the country, from California to Louisiana to Vermont, to listen to what people had to say about it.This piece is part of a project called The Listeners, an experiment in hyperlocal documentary storytelling from the Transom Story Lab. You can find the Transom post here and the New Yorker Radio Hour presentation here.Reporting by Eve Abrams in Louisiana, Scott Carrier and Jenny Ament in Utah, Erica Heilman in Vermont, Yohance Lacour in Illinois and David Weinberg in California. It was produced by Sophie Crane. Mix and sound design by Josh Crane with music from Matthias Bossi and Jon Evans of Stellwagen Symphonette. Special thanks to Jay Allison, Jen Jerrett and David Krasnow.The Brave Little State team is Josh Crane, Sabine Poux and Burgess Brown. Our intern is Sarah Bokelberg. Our executive producer is Angela Evancie. Theme music by Ty Gibbons; other music by Blue Dot Sessions.As always, our journalism is better when you’re a part of it: Ask a question about Vermont Sign up for the BLS newsletter Say hi onInstagram and Reddit @bravestatevt Drop us an email: hello@bravelittlestate.org Make a gift to support people-powered journalism Tell your friends about the show! Brave Little State is a production of Vermont Public and a proud member of the NPR Network.
- Jun 11, 202629 min
Why does Vermont send people to an out-of-state prison?
Right now, there are around 150 Vermonters behind bars in Tutwiler, Mississippi. Question-asker Devon Kurtz is wondering: Why does the state send these men to a private prison more than a thousand miles away — especially since there's a vacant prison in Windsor, Vermont? Click here for the web version of this episode, including photos and a full transcript. And read an in-depth dispatch from Liam’s visit to Tutwiler here. RSVP to our upcoming event in Winooski!This episode was reported by Liam Elder-Connors. Editing and production from Sabine Poux, Burgess Brown, Alicia Freese and Josh Crane. Our intern is Sarah Bokelberg. Angela Evancie is our Executive Producer. Theme music by Ty Gibbons; other music by Blue Dot Sessions.Special thanks to Zoe McDonald, Catherine Hurley and Tom Marsh.This episode was made possible with support from the Vermont Public Journalism Fund.As always, our journalism is better when you’re a part of it: Ask a question about Vermont Sign up for the BLS newsletter Say hi onInstagram and Reddit @bravestatevt Drop us an email: hello@bravelittlestate.org Make a gift to support people-powered journalism Tell your friends about the show! Brave Little State is a production of Vermont Public and a proud member of the NPR Network.
- May 21, 202622 min
Why are there so many twins in Sheldon?
There’s a saying that twins are “in the water” in the town of Sheldon. Our journey to get to the bottom of this curious bit of local lore takes us from a dairy farm in Franklin County to a university in Amsterdam and back.Thanks to the amateur investigators who aided us along the way, and to Ellen Stanley, our winning question-asker. She’s wondering:“I live next to a community — Sheldon, Vermont — that has so many twins. Are twins really 'in the water'? What might cause this over generations?” Click here for the web version of this episode, including photos and a full transcript. As always, our journalism is better when you’re a part of it: Ask a question about Vermont Sign up for the BLS newsletter Say hi onInstagram and Reddit @bravestatevt Drop us an email: hello@bravelittlestate.org Make a gift to support people-powered journalism Tell your friends about the show! Brave Little State is a production of Vermont Public and a proud member of the NPR Network.
- May 7, 202624 min
A day with Bradford’s bottle-sorting wiz
Inside a cavernous redemption warehouse in the Upper Valley, customers come to exchange bottles and cans for coins — and to see bottle-sorter Teera “Sweet T” Paye. We visited thanks to a question from Kevin Donohue of Thetford. He asked,“Who redeems bottles and cans in Vermont? Why are there so few places to do so?”Click here for photos and a full episode transcript. And here to sign up for the BLS newsletter!This episode was reported by Burgess Brown. Editing and additional production from Sabine Poux and Josh Crane. Our executive producer is Angela Evancie. Theme music by Ty Gibbons; other music by Blue Dot Sessions.Special thanks to Catherine Hurley and Marcie Gallagher.As always, our journalism is better when you’re a part of it: Ask a question about Vermont Sign up for the BLS newsletter Say hi onInstagram and Reddit @bravestatevt Drop us an email: hello@bravelittlestate.org Make a gift to support people-powered journalism Tell your friends about the show! Brave Little State is a production of Vermont Public and a proud member of the NPR Network.
- Apr 23, 202621 min
Vermont’s love-hate relationship with fast food
People love to highlight Vermont “firsts” — like, how we’re the first state to ban billboards and to approve civil unions. Or how we’re first in the nation in maple syrup production and number of craft breweries per capita. Gary Gulka, of Cabot, wants to know: Where is Vermont ranked dead last?As we waded through a sea of last-place statistics, one stood out to us more than any other. Satisfy your cravings (hint hint) and tune in to learn more.Thanks to Gary for the great question. Click here for photos and a full episode transcript.This episode was reported by Sabine Poux. Editing and production from the rest of the BLS team: That’s Burgess Brown and Josh Crane. Our executive producer is Angela Evancie. Theme music by Ty Gibbons; other music by Blue Dot Sessions.Special thanks to Kari Anderson, Bobby Lussier, Mikaela Lefrak, Jon Ehrens, Zoe McDonald, Phil Edfors, Shawn Harrington, Barbara Baraw, Hank Lambert, Michael Moser and everyone on Reddit who responded to our callout for fast food stories.As always, our journalism is better when you’re a part of it: Ask a question about Vermont Sign up for the BLS newsletter Say hi onInstagram and Reddit @bravestatevt Drop us an email: hello@bravelittlestate.org Make a gift to support people-powered journalism Tell your friends about the show! Brave Little State is a production of Vermont Public and a proud member of the NPR Network.
- Apr 9, 202625 min
Why are self-storage facilities popping up all over Vermont?
We all accumulate lots of … stuff. Increasingly, we’re cramming more of that stuff into self-storage facilities: those fields of metal lockers, arranged in neat, industrial rows. Join us as we explore the stuff — and stories — we usually keep stored away.Thanks to Chris Robbins of Middlebury for the great question.JOIN US! We’re headed to Northern Stage in White River Junction to give fans a behind-the-scenes look at the show. We hope to see you there.Click here for photos and a full episode transcript.This episode was reported by Mikaela Lefrak. Editing and production from Sabine Poux, Josh Crane and Burgess Brown. Our executive producer is Angela Evancie. Theme music by Ty Gibbons; other music by Blue Dot Sessions.Special thanks to Carly Berlin. As always, our journalism is better when you’re a part of it: Ask a question about Vermont Sign up for the BLS newsletter Say hi onInstagram and Reddit @bravestatevt Drop us an email: hello@bravelittlestate.org Make a gift to support people-powered journalism Tell your friends about the show! Brave Little State is a production of Vermont Public and a proud member of the NPR Network.
- Mar 19, 202626 min
What's the story behind the asbestos mine in Eden?
This is a tale about what happens when a toxic industry booms and busts, the mess that’s left behind and the fight over how to clean it up.Thanks to Morgan Pratt, Ann Fano and Carol Fano for the great questions.You can find the web version of this story here. JUST ANNOUNCED: Join us in April in White River Junction for a behind-the-scenes look at the show!This episode was reported by Burgess Brown. Editing and additional production from the BLS team: Sabine Poux and Josh Crane. Our executive producer is Angela Evancie. Theme music by Ty Gibbons; other music by Blue Dot Sessions.Special thanks to Abagael Giles, Matt Kierstead, Gary Lipson, Dr. Arti Shuckla, Marjorie Gale and Kyle Casteel. As always, our journalism is better when you’re a part of it: Ask a question about Vermont Sign up for the BLS newsletter Say hi onInstagram and Reddit @bravestatevt Drop us an email: hello@bravelittlestate.org Make a gift to support people-powered journalism Tell your friends about the show! Brave Little State is a production of Vermont Public and a proud member of the NPR Network.
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What if you could decide what stories Vermont Public should be covering, before they're even assigned? That's the idea behind Brave Little State.
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